Rox Pile
Fansided

Colorado Rockies: A look at the Hall of Fame case for Todd Helton

By Noah Yingling

7 Mar 1999: Infielder Todd Helton #17 of the Colorado Rockies swings at the ball during the Spring Training game against the San Francisco Giants at the Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona. The Giants defeated the Rockies 10-9.
7 Mar 1999: Infielder Todd Helton #17 of the Colorado Rockies swings at the ball during the Spring Training game against the San Francisco Giants at the Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona. The Giants defeated the Rockies 10-9. /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
PHILADELPHIA – OCTOBER 07: Todd Helton #17 of the Colorado Rockies bats against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game One of the NLDS during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park on October 7, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA – OCTOBER 07: Todd Helton #17 of the Colorado Rockies bats against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game One of the NLDS during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park on October 7, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /

In the past week or so, the 2019 Hall of Fame ballot was released and, as expected, among the first timers, Todd Helton is on the ballot. However, considering the Coors Field bias that most of the BBWAA members have, he may be a long shot, at least this season.

Whether it’s because a disdain for Denver and/or Coors Field, ignorance of numbers, or just sheer stupidity, the Baseball Writer’s Association of America writers that have votes for the Hall of Fame do not like Rockies players but if you look at the numbers, there a couple of Rockies that should be Hall of Famers.

One of them is Todd Helton. If you are a Rockies fan who saw Helton on a day in and day out basis, you probably already know this. However, the numbers back it up.

For me personally, when I look at a player, to determine them to be a “Hall of Famer”, I want to see eight “Hall of Fame” seasons and it helps in particular if the seasons are bunched together. For Helton, I see eight Hall of Fame seasons in a row plus two more seasons after.

The seasons that are together are 1998 through 2005. In those seven seasons, these are the numbers that he posted.

Standard Batting
Year Age G R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB Awards
1998 24 152 78 167 37 25 97 53 54 .315 .380 .530 .911 119 281 RoY-2
1999 25 159 114 185 39 35 113 68 77 .320 .395 .587 .981 122 339
2000 26 160 138 216 59 42 147 103 61 .372 .463 .698 1.162 163 405 AS,MVP-5,SS
2001 27 159 132 197 54 49 146 98 104 .336 .432 .685 1.116 160 402 AS,MVP-9,GG,SS
2002 28 156 107 182 39 30 109 99 91 .329 .429 .577 1.006 148 319 AS,MVP-19,GG,SS
2003 29 160 135 209 49 33 117 111 72 .358 .458 .630 1.088 165 367 AS,MVP-7,SS
2004 30 154 115 190 49 32 96 127 72 .347 .469 .620 1.088 165 339 AS,MVP-16,GG
G R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB Awards

His average season during this span was 157 games with 192 hits, 47 doubles, 35 home runs, 118 RBI, 94 walks, only 76 strikeouts, and a .340/.464/.620, and a 149 OPS+ (or 49 percent better than league average). The OPS+ is the big number here considering that it is park adjusted, so the “well, he played half of his games at Coors Field” don’t really have an excuse.

The other three seasons that are borderline Hall of Fame worthy for me are these three.

Standard Batting
Year G R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB Awards
2005 144 92 163 45 20 79 106 80 .320 .445 .534 .979 144 272
2007 154 86 178 42 17 91 116 74 .320 .434 .494 .928 133 275
2009 151 79 177 38 15 86 89 73 .325 .416 .489 .904 127 266 MVP-13
G R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB Awards

To me, those seasons and the other seven put him over the top, but there are a fewer other things to look at.

Home/Colorado Rockies History